CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
It would apear that, much to my surprise I don't in fact pay large amounts of tax;
Neither do you lot. No you don't. Shhhh. You DO NOT PAY TAX. AT ALL.
Anyone else wishing to no longer pay tax simply has to start cycling. I'll let the Big Four have that idea for free.
To be fair, this is just another example of a sub writing a headline which doesn't reflect the article itself.
@Stickman
Most people only scan at best beyond the headline, and the key quote is this;
'will cyclists pay for it via a form of taxation – and if not, which budget will the money be taken from to fund the project?'
Amazon uses the roads for deliveries. The Telegraph is not agitating for it to pay 'a form of taxation' other than the form it pays in Luxembourg.
I didn't realise I enjoyed a tax-exempt status. I think I've therefore been mischarged VAT on every bike, bicycle component, servicing and item of cycling apparel I've ever bought.
Can someone link me to the form to start claiming it back please.
Do pedestrians pay a special walking on the street tax? Do NHS , social services users, education users, pay a special tax. Many government services are free at the point of use.
Even services used by the few paid for by the many. Cycling as well as having many positive extremities ( health saving , pollution , congestion) also would have a cost to use ratio lower than other things that don’t get questioned.
It would depend on the frame you take when looking at cycling if used a motor vehicle analogue then yes it would appear cyclists don’t pay, if used a walking or bus or train etc then its far from clear.
The rail network is not commercial, in most areas the bus likewise is not. Bus and rail subsidies may be more of a financial benefit to the individual user than cycling cost per user.
For example if we say me using the cycle facilities in Edinburgh cost I don’t know 100 a year times number of cyclists, ( completely made up figures) then take the total cycling cost and divide by users, how would this fare compared to rail or bus even if we use these other options as a the frame. Could compare walking or why not just other government service for that matter.
Non education or social work users will pay a lot more for the benefit of others than non cycle users will pay for cyclists. Just the telegraph BS ing choosing a frame that they hope appeals to readership.
@Ed1
I'd say this was part of a general 'Atlantacist' movement to reframe taxes as charges for state services. If you're very rich and don't much use state services this suits you greatly.
The Poll Tax was the first such move, and it caused insurrection in Scotland. They've been a bit more subtle since, but the 'you don't pay road tax' meme is very much part of it. They frame roads as a service with customers rather than a general good.
Look forward to a new education tax only paid by people with children in state schools in the manifestos for next year.
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